Exalted : A Tale of Spiraling Flames
by Fan of Fanfics
Summary: Lost in a world beyond his, Naruto begins building a new life. Taken in by a new family, given a new purpose to work toward, and even learning how to use a power beyond any jutsu. But with change comes sacrifice. Torn between his old life and his new horizon, can he really have a piece of this new life, or will this change destroy him? T for now, possibly M later.
1. Chapter 1

So, not the story I had originally planned, but I'd like to think this one is better. Simpler. More elegant and based in the lore (even if it's newer lore) of the MTG world. So I hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own Magic: The Gathering.

The city of Ghirapur. One of the largest cities in the entire plane of Kaladesh. A glorious beacon of Order and Progress, brought about by the consuls and their creations. The numerous citizens bustling about the corridors and walkways barely noticed as the city reconfigured around them, changing and adapting to the whims of the various gearcrafters and clockforgers. The artisans that crafted items of beauty and function, that served the needs of the people. Walls shifting into pathways, bridges over waterways forming themselves to serve the people. It was as though the city was a being unto itself, created to serve those that lived within its walls.

The thoroughfare was full of people today, a wall of bodies that most people would need hours just to navigate through. Nobody paid any mind to the shadow drifting above them, moving with swift precision from one rooftop to another. Nor did they notice the person casting the shadow leaping to heights and lengths no normal human could, at least not unaided. Running along the roof at a breakneck pace, the young boy neared the side of the adjacent building, built so close they may have been one in the same. With a mighty jump, he propelled himself upward, gripping the side of the building, guiding him through a flip to land gracefully on his feet. This was the best way to travel. Soldiers rarely patrolled the rooftops outside of military installations and city-wide sweeps. And that only left...

The unmistakable sound of spinning rotors filling the air, a series of five thopters - dubbed 'whirlers' by the inhabitants of Kaladesh - descended from above, sweeping the area for smugglers and rebels. People like the boy. What kind of way to live was this, the boy thought. Constant surveillance, forcing the people to rely on the ones in power by making them feel weak and helpless. They made his blood boil. The flying pieces of engineered art made their sweeps and began to move on, though one lingered for a moment. It moved closer and closer to the wall, its lone eye doing a sweep. For a moment, it saw a flicker of something, but filed it as just glare from the sun glinting on the metal wall. Turning, the whirler began to float after the rest.

For a moment, all was still, until a sigh was heard. Dropping the large sheet, which was designed to look like the wall behind him, the boy smiled. "Works every time," he muttered, puling his scarf down, revealing three whisker-like markings gracing his cheeks. Adjusting the object on his back, a single silver canister, he made sure the contents hadn't been disturbed, before springing off the roof once more. He took the rooftops for another very important reason...he could never remember his way around the city from ground level. He was a relative newcomer, only having been in Ghirapur for a few months. He'd like to say he was making a name for himself. However, in his line of work, secrecy and discretion was key. Of course, being a ninja, he could pull that off...for a little while, any way.

His destination right over on the next building, the blonde smirked and leapt high, twisting and contorting in mid-air. Anyone looking at him would wonder how any human could bend in those ways. Before he could crash into the metal roof of his target building, it began to open, seemingly of its own accord. His customer's skylight, allowing him in and closing behind him, looking as though it had swallowed him up. Just in time too, as another thopter patrol came sweeping through the open air, missing him by mere moments.

The blonde stood, the room pitch black, and stared into the darkness. "Does the Will of Fire burn in you?" a voice called. The voice of his client. This was the password. The boy removed the canister from his back, placing it on the floor with a soft, metallic 'clang.'

"It burns within us all," the boy replied, giving the all-clear signal, letting his shrouded client know that he was neither spotted or followed. The lights in the room came on, temporarily blinding the blonde as the client stepped forth from the shadows, taking the canister and its contents.

"Punctual as ever, Naruto. You do us all a great service."

"My...employers, do the service," Naruto replied. He understood that this place was as safe as could be, but in a place ruled by the consuls and under the surveillance of the whirlers, he knew better than to openly use the names of his friends so openly. They were in the middle of an illegal trade, after all. The man smiled down at the blonde ninja, ruffling his hair.

"Of course," he replied, chuckling. "I forget, you're just a simple courier." He took his delivery, releasing the cap ever so slightly, to make sure he was getting quality shipment. Naruto watched as the contents began to release, hissing out like steam from a tea-kettle from the high pressure. Æther. The power source for all the many devices and artifacts that the city's inhabitants created and shared with the rest of the populace. Ensuring that his product was indeed secure, the client nodded, before pulling out the payment. Naruto shared the opinion of his bosses, that Æther should not be charged for. It was the life-blood of everything in Kaladesh. But of course, procuring it was dangerous, as was transporting it. The consuls kept the substance strictly regulated. More power to them, after all, by controlling the most precious resource.

As Naruto turned to leave, he was halted once more by the voice of his client. "One more thing. This time just for you." Turning, Naruto saw the man reach into the satchel on his hip, before pulling out an ancient-looking scroll. "If anyone knew I had this, I could get in serious trouble."

"What is it?" Naruto asked, somewhat intrigued, now. It almost looked like one of the scrolls from the library back ho-. The blonde shook his head. Now was not the time to be thinking of that place.

"It's a scroll detailing simple spells. Magic." Now Naruto's interest was peaked even further. He knew next to nothing about magic, outside of the fact he was capable of using it. Hell, it's what had brought him to Kaladesh in the first place. "I have no use for it. There are almost no mages in Kaladesh, let alone Ghirapur, and as I said, it's more trouble for me to keep than to give it to you. You'll have far more use for it than I." Naruto was stunned. Something so valuable, being just given to him on a whim. He wasn't used to gifts, after all, and this was an extraordinary one.

Bowing slightly, Naruto took the scroll, handling the old document with care and reverence. But for now, he slipped it into his own satchel, carefully. He could look at it when he got back home...well, the place he was calling home for the moment. Checking the time, he waited until the next thopter patrol had come and gone, before he leapt up into the air once more, the sky-light reopening to allow his exit.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Arriving back safely, Naruto slipped in through an upper window. Before he could take even a single step, he was tackled by a blur. A blur with fiery red hair. "How did it go!" he would-be ambusher gushed excitedly. Did you run into any soldiers? Get spotted by the whirlers? Please tell me something exciting happened. I'm living vicariously through you, here."

"If something exciting happens, it means something went wrong, Chandra. Please don't wish for that." The girl flinched, blushing at her father's kind, yet stern reprimand. "Now, if you could kindly remove yourself from our courier. It seems he's about to suffocate." Blinking owlishly, Chandra looked down, noting in embarrassment that she was quite literally leaning on Naruto's throat. She laughed nervously as she removed the hand, allowing Naruto to gasp for breath. Naruto looked to Chandra's father, his employer and friend, and nodded his thanks as his face began to return to its normal color.

"Thanks, Kiran," Naruto said, rubbing his throat, as the man held out his hand to the young boy. Gripping it without hesitation, he felt how rough and coarse they were, likely from all the tinkering and metalwork. Kiran Nalaar was a tall man, with a shaggy head of reddish-brown hair, matched by a scraggly goatee. He often wore a protective tunic, as he was more often than not doing metalwork and welding, and he was rarely - if ever - seen without his welding goggles. "That's another thing I owe you for." The man just laughed heartily, patting the boy on the shoulder.

"You have already paid back our kindness ten-fold. We've been able to distribute more Æther since you've taken up the cause than in years of working the underground. You're helping so many more people than just us." Naruto smiled slightly, Kiran's encouraging words easing his guilt for putting the family out for the last few months. He was enveloped with warmth as Chandra - gently this time - pulled him into a hug, leaning on his shoulder. Kiran was about to crack a joke, but he was pulled into a hug of his own, his wife Pia mirroring her daughter's position perfectly.

"How cute," she announced with a smile. "First love is so sweet." Naruto began to sputter, and Chandra, in her horror, pushed Naruto back to the floor, before she stomped her foot, glaring at Pia, who just smiled an innocent smile at her daughter.

"Mother!" Chandra half-yelled in disgust. The artisan let out an airy, mirth-filled laugh as she crouched to once more help Naruto up. Pia was a beautiful woman, with hair of a slightly more reddish-hue than her husband. Her choice in clothing varied, but she always wore a red scarf.

"I'm only teasing, Chandra. I know Naruto is only a friend," Despite her words, Kiran knew his wife well enough to know she was hoping for the two to develop into something more. Naruto was the only real friend their daughter had who was roughly her age - twelve compared to her eleven. He entralled Chandra with his stories of far off lands, with his tales of his treks over the roofs of the city. He protected their daughter, who was often bullied by the local children. She was a tomboy, she wasn't good at tinkering, and she was generally a loner. The local children could be cruel. But Naruto often stood up for her, for which Pia and Kiran were grateful. Naruto was so good for her, and they hoped whatever magic he had that brought him to their daughter would never take him away.

"Everything went smoothly then, Naruto?" Pia continued, brushing the dust off of him and straightening his tunic. Honestly, Naruto missed his jumpsuit. But between his last battle, and crossing from the nations to Kaladesh, it was torn to shreds. He looked down at the old, yet still comfortable maroon outfit, which was interlaced with intricate golden trim. He smiled at Pia, who smiled right back. She reminded him of Tsunami, back from Wave country. She was a kind, yet responsible woman, who had, along with her husband, taken him in and treated him like family.

"Went completely unseen, as usual," Naruto bragged. "Soldiers and Thopters are kids stuff compared to Jonin and ANBU."

"Good thing you're a kid, then," Kiran joked, wrapping his arm around his wife's shoulder. Naruto just snorted. He had grown accustomed to Kiran's particular sense of humor by now. "You'll have a few deliveries tomorrow, but for now, you did good, as usual." He patted the boy's shoulder, before he and his wife turned to leave. "And by the way, you two _do_ make a cute couple." The Nalaar parents exited the room just in time to dodge two thrown trinkets. One from each of the child. Both Naruto and Chandra turned to look at each other, a furious blush on each of their faces.

Plopping down and stretching out over the make-shift cot he had been calling his bed for the last several months. Chandra, likewise, sat in a chair next to the writing desk in the room. "What's it like, delivering the canisters?" the girl asked, looking up toward the ceiling as she leaned back in the chair. "Mother and Father said I could start acting as a courier soon, and I just need to know what to expect." Naruto sighed, yet smirked.

"Since when does Chandra Nalaar ever plan things out ahead of time?" he joked, but regretted it when the girl swiftly stomped her foot into his ribs. "Ok, ok, jeez, lighten up." Chandra just laughed as he rubbed the area she had kicked him. "Being a courier is easy, if you know how to hide in plain sight. It's all a matter of agility and street smarts. It also helps to be a ninja, like me."

"You need to teach me how to do all that rooftop hopping and stuff," she half-joked, half-begged, moving over to his cot and plopping down on top of him, smiling at the sound he made when the wind was knocked out of him. "I wanna learn how to stick to walls, and jump twenty feet in the air!" Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, Chandra. I told you, I use chakra to enhance my strength and speed. We can train you physically, but you need to show potential in using chakra before you can do most of the things I can do." Chandra just waved the blonde off.

"Oh, you and your pesky details," she said, and Naruto just rolled his eyes once again.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

 _Naruto was falling. Not down, but up, somehow. Around him, a field of grays, intermixed with splotches of bright lights, colored blue, and white, and green. He felt pressure on his body as though caught in a great wind, but there was no wind in this place. Crashing into something he couldn't see, he bounced off of it, ricocheting into several more invisible barriers. The pressure was building more and more, and just as he thought himself going crazy, he not only crashed into another barrier, but shatter through it, complete with the sound of broken glass. Now he felt the wind, as he tumbled through the air, little more than a rag doll. Luckily, he managed to crash through several awnings as he descended from the ground. He hit the ground with much less force than he rightly should have._

" _It's too late, Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, grabbing Naruto shirt and flinging him off the side of the cliff. Before he could right himself, Sasuke leapt off as well, grabbing Naruto tightly, preparing to deliver an super pile-driver, smashing the blonde's skull across the rocks. Struggling to break free, Naruto couldn't help but linger on those words. It's too late. Was it? Time seemed to slow for the blonde shinobi as the ground below grew ever closer. While neither Sasuke nor he himself could see Naruto's eyes beginning to glow white, Sasuke did begin having trouble keeping his grip. Naruto was beginning to shake, violently. The wind that had been rushing passed them was now swirling, spinning like a tornado. No, Naruto thought. It wasn't too late. He could still do this. He could still make Sasuke go home. The Uchiha's eyes widened as his opponent was now vibrating so ferociously that he was almost blurring out of existence. His while body began to glow brightly, and as the two slammed into the ground, Naruto seemingly exploded, sending Sasuke flying away and slamming into the rock wall with enough force to collapse a good chunk of it on top of him. It was the last thing Naruto saw._

" _Please Naruto, you have to bring him back," wept Sakura. Naruto just sadly nodded, turning away as he and the retrieval team walked out the gate. They had been gathered for one purpose and one purpose only. Assure that Sasuke was unsuccessful in defecting from Konoha. He, Neji, Choji, Shikamaru, and Kiba had all been chosen for the task, and they would succeed, even if Naruto had to drag the Uchiha back, bruised, battered, and hog-tied. What was this idiot thinking? Running away from his home, from his friends?_

In the real world, back in Kaladesh, Naruto was asleep in his cot, having a dream he had had many a night since coming to this world. It varied only slightly from night to night, but it was always quite similar. The events leading up to his jump from the nations to Kaledesh, always presented out of order. He wasn't sure why. All he was sure of was that each night, the order of events would be different. Something was different now. Something deep within him had changed. Never before had his dreams been so...non-linear. He twisted and turned in his sleep, his mind desperate to make some sense of things, to give him the answers he so desperately desired. To allow him to hold out hope that things could ever go back to the way things were before.

But his mind soon began to drift to the Nalaars. The family had taken him in. Sheltered him. Given him a purpose, if only a temporary one. It was the closest to a happy family life than Naruto had ever come. Were his promises, his dreams, really worth giving all this up? Worth sacrificing his new life, to go back to his old where he had no family, relatively few friends...his dreams? This conundrum in his subconscious rocked him from his sleep, and he sat up in his make-shift bed. Rubbing his eyes, he noticed his satchel in his peripheral vision, the old scroll peaking out, practically calling to him. "Oh, what the hell," he uttered, getting up and grabbing the thing. He was awake anyway. Might as well check it out.

Carefully unrolling the ancient text, Naruto spread it gently out onto the floor. Igniting a lamp, he began reading. Somehow, while the written symbols were unfamiliar, Naruto found that in his mind's eye, they seemed to morph and shift into the kanji he had been using his entire life. The first time this had happened to him, he had been shocked and a little unnerved, but he then realized this was probably some form of magical offshoot of the power that brought him to this world in the first place. If he was given the power to move from one world to another, why wouldn't he also be gifted with the ability to communicate properly? It made sense to him, at least.

"Simple spells for starting mages," he read to himself, trying to remain quiet. "Contained within lay a few, starting-level spells for the mage who hasn't discovered himself yet. Step one, finding your mana alignment..."

Chapter end

So, this was a vast departure from my original MTG story idea, but with the release of Magic Origins, and thus the retooled back-stories of Gideon, Chandra, Liliana, Nissa, and Jace, it went a long way towards inspiring a new fic, which turned into this. I am very heavily basing at least the first part on Chandra's story 'Fire Logic,' which you can look at online. I actually got a hold of the Magic Origins, Planeswalker Anthology book, which contains the same story.

While I won't reveal straight up Naruto's magical ability, I will drop a spoiler here, in that I've made Naruto a natural user of what I like to think of as Fortunamancy. A Passive form of magic that allows for the distortion of probability and luck. Because lets face it, nobody can be that lucky without magic being involved.

Peace to all my fans

Fan of Fanfics


	2. Chapter 2

Hi guys, time for what I like to think of as 'Book 1, Chapter 2.' Make of that what you will.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own Magic: The Gathering

Naruto awoke with a start, having fallen asleep some time during the night, interrupting his studies. Finding his mana-alignment was difficult. When he used jutsu, he drew power from within himself - his chakra - and directed it outward. With mana, it was drawn from the land around him, and he directed it through himself. His natural alignment would allow him to reach across vast distances to access the mana, but it was by far harder than learning the Rasengan. And even then, there really wasn't much for natural land in Ghirapur. He'd need to get out beyond the massive city to the surrounding forests to really see if he could tap into any of the mana. Though he did note that he managed to feel out and hold what the scroll referred to as 'Green' mana, for a moment. An apt name, as while it coursed through him, bending between his fingers, it possessed a brilliant green glow. The mana of the forests and trees.

Also in his alignment, he found a comfort in 'White' mana. The mana of the sweeping plains. The mana of law, order, structure, justice. As he held it within himself, it filled him with a warmth, a strength both like and unlike that of the green mana. The green mana had made him feel strong, sure. But the white mana made him feel invincible. Like nothing could hurt him. Literally. He honestly felt his fatigue from the past few days melt away as the mana seemed to supercharge his already rapid healing abilities. The scroll had mentioned that while it wasn't uncommon for a mage to have a dual alignment, but Naruto, as it turned out, was one of those rare spellcasters with a triple alignment.

In Naruto's case, the third color alignment was blue, the mana of water, islands, and the spark of fluid creativity for many an artificer. Unlike green and white mana, touching blue was akin to a mind-opening. His eyes keener, his senses clearer. The various mana gave him a strange sense of kinship with the world around him and yet it was so...foreign. He was not used to the feelings, and they both excited him and made him feel a sense of panic. He was breaching something unknown to the Elemental Nations, and it scared him, not because of what he was learning, because it was amazing. He was frightened due to why he was learning it. He was quite literally worlds away from his home, learning a totally different discipline than the ninjutsu he worked so tirelessly for.

Snapped out of his reverie by the explosion of nearing footsteps, Naruto quickly - yet carefully - rolled up the old scroll and once more placed it within his satchel. Not a moment too soon, as it happened, as Chandra burst into the room a look of absolute jubilation plastered across the red-head's face. "Naruto!" she practically yelled, right in his face. "They finally said it! I get to try my hand as a courier in two weeks!" Naruto smiled at the girl's enthusiasm.

"Let me guess. You wanna run the course?" Naruto questioned. Chandra just flashed him an enormous smile and rubbed the back of her head, a habit she had developed after spending so much time with the blonde shinobi. Nodding, she began to practically bounce from foot-to-foot as Naruto stood from his position on the floor, stretching and receiving several satisfying pops from his vertibrae. Ever impatient, the girl gripped his hand and had begun to drag him along. She knew Naruto was just screwing with her with his slow-moving and old-people sounds as they moved through the Nalaar home. And he was.

Naruto had grown quite fond of Chandra. She reminded him of himself so much it was scary. And she idolized him. It was strange having someone so close to his own age doing so. Back home, the only people who looked up to him were Konohamaru and his friends. Sure, a few people respected him, but nobody really saw him as anything but an annoying blonde in a bright orange jumpsuit. Or just the vessel of a demon. He defeated Gaara and saved the Hidden Leaf, and Shikamaru had been made Chuunin. He went with Jiraiya and personally convinced Tsunade to return the village, and it was immediately forgotten by all not-involved in that mission. Was he always destined to be a social pariah?

Likewise, Chandra also was an outcast among her peers. She wasn't good at tinkering with the fantastical devices and artifacts that the world of Kaladesh ran on. Perhaps it was the impatience that made her so endearing that also kept her from truly grasping the concepts. Kept her from keeping her focus. Naruto liked to think she wasn't good at the craft because she was just meant for other things. Like his own inability to form regular clones, yet massive armies of Kage Bunshin. She couldn't do it because her own calling, the thing she was supposed to be best at, was blocking her from taking a path she was not meant to follow. Speaking of paths...

They had exited the home into a back alleyway. Taking a mighty leap, Naruto ascended to the roof of the adjacent building. Dropping, he sat with his legs over the edge, swinging them as he looked down at the red-head expectantly. He watched her steel herself before she dashed toward the back wall of the alley, leaping onto a few metal crates. Lunging at the wall, she immediately shoved off as she leapt towards the opposite wall. She repeated the action, shoving off with all her might, her arms flailing wildly, looking for anything to grab. For a moment, she thought she wouldn't make it, but she managed to catch the ledge upon which Naruto still sat. Chandra's rules. He wouldn't intervene unless she was in imminent danger. The red-head grunted as she pulled herself up onto the roof.

"That was a lot faster than last time," Naruto praised, causing the girl to cheer. Motioning for her to follow to the other side of the roof, Naruto took a leap over the next alleyway. Chandra steeled herself as she took off at a run and made a flying leap, only barely clearing the other side of the alley. This continued for almost twenty minutes, the two circling the Nalaar home as quickly as they could by rooftop. While Naruto wasn't even breaking a sweat, Chandra was tiring quickly. While she was far stronger than most of the children in Ghirapur, she didn't have the years of training Naruto did. Naruto had advised her that without utilizing chakra, she was better off simply hiding within the bustling crowds below, using the roofs as a quick escape. But at that point, she still insisted that she needed to learn how to ascend walls without chakra. As she was at the moment, she could just barely make it to the roof of single-story buildings, but she could also use the wall-jumping to clear an adult's head, in the event she got detained by a soldier and needed to make a break for it.

He knew the moment she made her last leap. Her exhaustion showing through, her leg positions off, her final jump less powerful than the previous. Naruto grimaced as he watched, almost in slow motion as her left leg caught the edge of the building wrong. A look of pain overtook Chandra's face, and Naruto thought he heard a bone snap. And then time seemed to move at the normal pace, Chandra losing her balance, unable to support her weight on her left leg. She let out a yelp of pain and surprise as she began to fall into the alley below.

She felt more than saw Naruto catch her, landing as gently as he could on the ground. Sweat dripped down her forehead from the exertion and pain, and as her leg jostled from the landing, she buried her face into Naruto's chest and fought down a scream. Unsure of what to do, Naruto just pulled her close, shushing her, telling her it would be ok. The blonde looked down and flinched. While the bone hadn't punctured the skin, her foot was at an angle that suggested her ankle had broken clean and complete. While he was no medic, he knew he would need to set the bone so that it could heal properly.

Laying her onto the ground, he removed the outer layer of his tunic, a simple sleeveless shirt beneath. Chandra thought perhaps he was going to use it to bind her leg, but he instead handed it to her. "Bite down on this," he said solemnly, and her eyes widened in terror as the weight of his words set in.

"No," she flat out refused. "No, no, no," she tried to scoot away from the blonde, but just succeeded in jostling her leg, turning her protest against itself. "Owowowowow." Naruto just stared at her, expectantly, before she put the sleeve of the garment - bunched into a ball of cloth - between her teeth. She whined through the mouthful as Naruto gingerly took hold of her displaced foot, and the rest of her leg, before he gave her a look of apology and pained understanding, and with a snap, shoved her foot back into its place. Had Naruto not given her his outer-shirt, she was sure she would have broken her teeth, she bit down so hard. It also greatly muffled her scream of pain, preventing anyone from entering the alley in their curiosity. Tears began to well in her eyes, but Chandra was too proud to let the blonde see her cry. Chandra Nalaar did not cry.

Naruto had way too much experience setting broken bones for a twelve-year old boy. However, they were usually his own, so he quickly double-checked to make sure he had done so correctly on the girl. Reaching out to the world for aid, he summoned up as much white mana as he could find, pooling it into his hands, much like he had seen Tsunade do with her healing chakra. Chandra was transfixed by the bright aura that had formed around Naruto's fingers as he reached down, gripping her broken ankle tightly. She flinched, expecting pain. Pain that somehow never came. Instead, there was a warmth, washing away all the pressure, the pain, the discomfort in her ankle, as though it had never been there in the first place.

The blonde was almost too focused to be amazed. He was casting a healing spell, and he had never done so before. It was his first real lesson. That mana and magic was as much a matter of will as a matter of thought. He held his hand to her skin for several moments, until all the mana he had summoned to him had passed through Chandra's leg, seeping into her skin. She was giving him a strange look, but she said nothing. Her only expression another flinch as he gently took her foot and began slowly moving it, making sure the bone had mended and she still had her range of motion. He noticed her eyes flash with a bit of pain, and wondered if he had healed her wrong, but she pulled her leg away, shaking her foot a bit as she forced herself to stand.

Leaping to his feet, Naruto slung her arm over his shoulder as she gave a few test steps. "I don't think it's broken anymore, but it's still a bit sore," she announced, lifting her leg and giving it another little shake. "Stiff, like it would be after a few weeks in a cast."

"But you're ok?" Naruto asked the girl, and she nodded, but did not release her grip from the blonde.

"Yeah, I just need to walk it off," she replied, and with a nod, Naruto began to slowly walk, supporting the girl as they exited the alley.

"Hey! What are you kids doing?" The two froze as they caught sight of a patrolling soldier marching toward them. Naruto cursed under his breath, and Chandra tensed. The guard noticed the red-head favoring her left foot, and glared at the two. "What's going on here?" he demanded.

Thinking quickly, Naruto threw out the best answer he could come up with. "We were racing, and she took a bad step and twisted her ankle," he said, Chandra nodding in confirmation. "I was just helping her home."

"And what were you doing back there?" the guard asked, a bit more politely, but no less seriously, as he pointed behind them at the alleyway.

"It's shorter to take the back-alleys, and less traffic," Chandra said. "We thought it best to take it slow and not get caught up in the crowd." The soldier seemed to accept that answer, nodding.

"Well, just be more careful next time. Would you like an escort back to your home, Ms...?

"Thank you," Chandra replied, trying not to sound too eager to get away from the guard. "But I already have an escort." The soldier nodded once more, before waving the two of them on. Once he was out of sight, the two let out a collective sigh of relief.

Half-way back to her home, Chandra had begun walking without Naruto's aid, only a slight limp to signify anything had happened at all, and by the time they had reached the Nalaar residence, not even that lingered. It was a relief for both children, and made Chandra admire Naruto even more. What had he done to her leg to heal it? Chandra had always been told stories by her mother of mages and magic and sorcery, and she even knew Naruto was from a far away land, but she never really entertained the thought of someone wielding magic. But was there any other way to describe what he had performed? She didn't think there was.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked her, breaking her away from her thoughts as she noted him looking at her leg.

"I'm fine now. I might be stiff for a while yet, but it doesn't hurt anymore," she replied, offhandedly. "By the way, can we not tell my parents about this? I just got them to agree to to let me try being a courier, and I don't want this to get in the way of that." Naruto shook his head in exasperation. Only Chandra could break her ankle and immediately think only about whether or not she could still deliver canisters. Maybe she'd make a great courier after all.

"I won't tell them. But let's have you keep your feet on the ground for the next few days, alright? Your roof-hopping is improving, but we should work at building your strength and endurance a bit more." Chandra looked a bit disappointed, but nodded in agreement.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

By the afternoon, Naruto was running Canisters, while Chandra did some exercises to strengthen her legs. Deep down, she felt she had failed. She hated that feeling. It gnawed at her inside like some wild beast. She must have looked so stupid and helpless, falling like she had, and was determined not to let it happen again. The red-head wasn't some helpless thing that needed Naruto to rescue her from every situation.

Though as she thought about it, the fact that Naruto went out of his way to help her and protect her was one of the reasons she looked up to him. He paid attention to her. He looked on her not as someone worthless. Not as a failure. He looked on her as her own person, and saw something unique, and it made her feel so warm inside. It was, well...magical. Stretching out, she let her hands touch the ankle that was previously broken as of that morning. Magical indeed.

"I see you're excited," Chandra stood up as her mother entered the room. Chandra nodded a look of fiery determination present in her eyes, which Pia took instant note of, smiling. Let it be known that nobody would ever tell Pia Nalaar that Chandra failed at things due to lack of motivation. "Just remember to mind what Naruto says. He's the best courier in the city right now, he'll steer you right."

"Yes, ma'am," Chandra agreed, already prepared to heed her mother's advice.

"You know, Naruto really is sweet boy," Pia said, smiling when she saw her daughter's eye begin to twitch. "I'm not saying right now, but some time in the future, you might find yourself wanting to be more than his friend, and I approve."

"Mother!" Chandra exclaimed, clearly irritated. "That's gross. Naruto is my friend, and there will never be anything more than that." Pia just continued to smile, perhaps even larger than before.

"If you say so," she replied, seemingly waving off Chandra's irritation, before pulling the girl into her embrace. Chandra felt her irritation wash away in her mother's arms. Her mother had that familiar smell of a welding torch about her, and Chandra breathed in in deeply. It had been ages since her mother had just sat with her like this. Between her own projects and smuggling Æther, Pia really never had much time to spend with her daughter. Yet another reason Pia was so grateful for Naruto. He offered Chandra companionship that she desperately needed. Friendship from someone who was her age. Sure, she had her and Kiran, but there was only so much you could gain from your parents.

Releasing her grip on her child, she brushed a strand of red-hair from Chandra's face. "I know you'll do great," she assured the girl, before whispering to her, "Your father thinks so too, he just won't admit it." The two shared a quiet laugh as Pia stood, running a hand through her daughter's hair. She didn't mention that she was picturing the future of her child, hoping that by the time Chandra was her age, there wouldn't be a need to smuggle illegal Æther. That with any luck she would be living a quiet, comfortable life. Perhaps with a loving, blonde-haired husband and a child or two of her own. A better life than the one she was moving toward now, of rebellion and secrecy. The life her family lead now. She knew it was not a purposeless life, knew that it was necessary. She just wished that it wasn't. Until that day, though, it would be the life her family lead.

It made her sad to think that Chandra would soon be undertaking the dangerous job of delivering the canisters of precious Æther. That at any time, she could be caught by the soldier patrols and imprisoned, or worse. But she also had faith. Faith in Chandra's ability, Faith that Naruto would be there to protect her. As she walked upstairs, she stopped outside the room that they had turned into a spare bedroom for the blonde. Cracking the door open, she didn't see their permanent house guest. Obviously, he was still out making deliveries. She thought back to the day he had literally dropped into their lives.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The family had just returned from a trade show, where Pia and Kiran had gone to sell their devices, both the old ones they had simply repaired, as well as their custom made wares. As they passed by one of the buildings adjacent to their own, they had almost missed his arrival. Thirty seconds later and they would have never found him. It was Chandra who heard it first. The strange, whipping wind that one could hear blowing, but not actually feel. The next thing heard, this time among the whole family, was the sound of fabric tearing, as well as a pained grunt.

Whirling around to the direction of the noise, they saw Naruto for the first time, lying broken and bloody on the street, his clothing ripped to more pieces than the awning he had just fallen through. Pia placed her hand over her mouth in shock, and Kiran shoved his hand over Chandra's mouth to prevent her from screaming. He knew that even in this situation, alerting the guard patrols would lead to nothing but even more trouble. He was extremely lucky the streets were empty today, due to the trade show. The Nalaars would later come to realize the boy lying in a heap was far luckier than his current condition made him out to be. Once Kiran had made certain that Chandra was alright, the man took action.

"Help me get him inside, before the soldiers come around with on patrol," he whispered harshly, he and Pia grabbing the boy, carrying the dead weight while Chandra ran into their home, doing whatever she could to prepare it for the injured boy.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Since then, the boy had become something like the son she and Kiran never had. He was a boon to their rebel activities, he helped out in the workshop, he protected Chandra from bullies. He was everything she could want in a son...well, son-in-law, if she had her way. And yet, as open as he'd been with them about who he was, where he came from, how he arrived, there was always a nagging feeling that something was bothering him. She had tried to get him to reach out to her, yet always, he put on the mask of a smile, pretending he was alright, but she knew. She knew he was having difficulty sleeping, waking in the middle of the night with a start. Pia wished he would just open up to her.

A panel in the wall slid open, creating a window which Naruto leapt through. Placing a smile on her face, she fully entered the room. "I trust everything went smoothly?" she asked, already knowing the answer. Naruto was the best of the best. Naruto just smiled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Quiet today, as usual," he responded, and Pia sat down on his cot, motioning for him to sit as well.

"Well, tell me about your day anyway." She smiled brighter when she saw a legitimate smile grace his face. But it also made her a bit sad. That what made him legitimately happy was just coming home to someone who would listen to how his day went. And it made her think yet again.

Just who was Naruto Uzumaki?

Chapter end

So, this story is going to be far different than most of my other ones. Why it will be so different, you'll have to wait and see. Also, now that you know Naruto's Color Identity, you should hopefully understand the title of this fic. And if you don't, stop playing MTG, burn your cards, you are worthless...No, I'm kidding, don't do that. I will also at least tell you which other planeswalkers will be making appearances in this fic:

Gideon Jura  
Jace Beleren  
Liliana Vess  
Garruk Wildspeaker (Mentioned only. He's playing the part of 'Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Fic)  
Sorin Markov (Mentioned only)

Nicol Bolas (Mentioned only)

Peace to all my Fans

Fan of Fanfics


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 is here, and this is where the heart of the story truly begins. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own Magic: The Gathering.

Chandra dodged and darted through the crowded streets of Ghirapur, trying to maintain hold of her satchel, the sleek, silver canister of Æther resting within. She did this while at the same time attempting to adjust the school tunic she was using as a disguise. The glaring son above glinted on several thopters motoring overhead, forcing Chandra to duck low, using the crowds below to conceal herself. Looking up, she was tempted to take to the rooftops, but a phantom pain in her ankle told her it would likely be a bad idea. She honestly needed to struggle to push through the people though, as the mid-day crowds began to thicken and grow larger. She was losing time, and she could not afford that on her first delivery.

Deciding on a different route, she made a detour, heading towards the canal. As she approached, the city, ever a moving puzzle of pieces which adapted and morphed to fit the needs of the citizens, began to form a bridge over the waterway, which she dashed across. It wasn't a great shortcut, but it would definitely shave time off from her delivery. This took her through the Akhara, a massive arena, within the city, created to house venues ranging from trade shows to public executions. The very idea of such a thing was sickening, but luckily, the red-headed young girl wasn't old enough to have gone to witness such events. Darting through a small group of Ætherologists, who seemed to be in the middle of a lecture, she continued to make a few more turns, stopping at a large wall, its entirety created to be a great mosaic. A monument dedicated to the great inventors of the past, their portraits inlaid in the wall. Using her limited, yet somewhat effective training from Naruto, she located a few notches and cracks that she used to scale the wall. Flipping over the top, she dropped into the alley below.

As she landed, she realized with a sick sense of dread, that she had taken a definite wrong turn. Her face paled as the small group of Consul soldiers blocking the path, armed with snapblades and Æther-charged dart throwers, turned and took note of her. "And just where do you think you're going, child?" one of them half-asked, half-demanded. She for a moment thought he might have been the soldier that had stopped her and Naruto the other day. Of course, many of them looked the same to Chandra. And if it was, she really hoped he didn't recognize her. "This corridor is off limits to civilians. Especially ones as young as you." Chandra's disguise - a replica of the uniforms some kids wore to the Builder's Institute, the academy for young metalworkers and artisans - then caught his eye, rousing suspicion even further. "Speaking of, why aren't you in school?"

"I'm late, and kind of in a hurry," replied Chandra, trying to sound confident in her lies. "And my examiner will eat me alive if I'm late again…come on, can't we please just let this slide?" Rubbing the back of her head and smiling sheepishly, she became increasingly aware that her ruse was not working as well as she had assumed it was going to.

"As I'm sure you're aware, miss, this is a restricted corridor," announced a second soldier, rather gruffly. The snapblade unsheathed from its forearm mount, and he brandished it for intimidation. "The thoroughfare for pedestrians is back on the other side of the courtyard."

Prickly heat crossed Chandra's brow. She couldn't dodge past them, and she couldn't exactly make a run for it. By this point, the soldiers were ready to search her bag, already on to the idea that she was smuggling contraband. "If I get another demerit, I'm done," she said, glancing from the soldier's gleaming blade up into his eyes. "Not to mention my Mother and Father will absolutely kill me. Can't you just let me go?" she pleaded once more as the soldiers began to move closer, arms outstretched to claim her bag.

One of them nodded to the other one. "Get out the Æther detector." Chandra nearly flinched, and her breathing hitched as she was grabbed.

The red-head jerked away from the one who'd seized her, breaking away from his grip as she proceeded to elbow another of the soldiers in the gut. Rebounding and slamming her fist into the chest of the first, it immediately occurred to her that this was a horrible idea. She was an eleven-year old picking a fight with numerous, well trained soldiers. But, hindsight was twenty-twenty, and Chandra never was one to lament her past decisions, preferring the here and now.

Indeed, the idea was definitely a bad one, and the battalion proved it by proceeding to dogpile upon the child, holding her down against the ground. Chandra kicked and flailed, managing to knock a few back, but they still managed to keep her restrained. Poking her head up, she struggled harder as a new figure approached.

"Captain Baral," one of the soldiers greeted. Leaping to attention, one of the men saluted.

Chandra, yanked to her feet, now got her first look at the named Captain. Baral was a rather large man, strong in stature and possessing a cocky demeanor that clearly informed all around that he believed himself superior to any and all who would oppose his authority.

"Is there some sort of problem?" he asked his subordinate, his voice harsh and low, his eyes never leaving the young girl before him.

"Uncooperative, sir. A possible truant."

"We told her this was a restricted corridor."

Baral chuckled smugly, ruffling Chandra's hair in the manner one would a dog. "You have to use small words with these street children," he replied. "Simple commands. 'Sit.' 'Stay.'"

Chandra grit her teeth, fingers flexing in and out of fists as she tried to reign in her the anger that was threatening to burst out. It spread through her fast, erupting from the pit of her stomach like an inferno. The burning spread through her, traveling down her arms, centering in her palms, which were still being forcibly restrained behind her back.

"I know you're not a student," Baral announced, leaning in close to her face, smirking. "This charade is somewhat cute, but ultimately pointless. If you hand me the bag, perhaps I can be persuaded to be lenient. If this is your first offense, of course."

Chandra was released from the grip of the other soldiers at Baral's nod, hoping she would comply, and trusting he and his men could handle one little girl if she did not. The red-head merely clutched her satchel closely, glaring at the Captain as she uttered a single, solitary, "No." She expected Baral to get angry, but instead, he just laughed. He placed his hand on her shoulder. The contact made her shake in anger once more. It was a firm squeeze, a gentle, yet somewhat threatening gesture. Jerking away with a grunt, she was desperate to yell at this man. To scream in his face and release all of her rage on the men around her.

"I don't think you understand, child. You're already in violation of the law in a half-dozen ways. Comply, or I will make you comply." That did it. Her rage boiled over, and unseen to them all, her palms began to glow red-hot. The shock of a new arrival brought the rage down once more, as a cloaked figure dropped in and slammed his heel into the back of Baral's head, sending him face first into the ground. It took her a moment to recognize Naruto's cloak as he sprung back from his landing, flipping and twisting in the air, taking out the two soldiers still holding her.

Landing, the blonde gripped her hand, before leaping over the slightly dazed, but recovering Captain Baral. As her feet once more touched ground, she was practically thrown forward, Naruto turning to face the soldiers, who were once more on their feet. Turning to face her, their eyes met, being the only part of Naruto's face that was visible. "Run, kid!" he shouted, not wanting to use her real name, for risk of blowing the entire Nalaar operation. When she didn't move, he yelled once again, this time almost angrily. "Run! I've got this!" Chandra was hesitant to leave him alone with the Consuls' forces, but nodded after a second, high-tailing it and dashing away.

Too busy watching Chandra, Naruto was caught off guard by the Haymaker hook to his jaw, dazing him for a moment, but ultimately giving him enough time to recover, as such a blow was powerful, but generally was wild and slow, and was easily telegraphed in a fight. Ducking beneath another fist, he sent a few jabs into the man's floater ribs, looking for points their light armor did not cover. He may have gotten rusty the past few months, but he still recalled enough of his training to completely outmatch the soldier, so long as he was actually playing attention. Gently redirecting another haymaker, Naruto pulled his opponent in and slammed his knee into his gut. The soldiers gasped as the wind was knocked out of him, before the blonde genin through him to the ground. Baral watched in mild interest, as his subordinate once more leapt to his feet.

Mustering what blue mana he could, he proceeded with his first attempt at an actual combat spell. By the time the next punch was thrown, the soldier practically erupted with brilliant blue light. Naruto and the other soldiers shielded their eyes until it died down, and when it did, the Consul forces, save Baral, took a step back in shock as Naruto smirked beneath his mask. Where their comrade had once stood, now only a tiny frog remained, hopping out of the man's armor. _"Huh,"_ Naruto thought. _"That spell was easy. And it may not be a toad, but I can live with this. Too bad it's only supposed to last a few minutes."_

Baral signaled and the two able soldiers rushed Naruto, who threw his arms forward, releasing an eerie fog billowing out from his sleeves. The fog spread quickly, engulfing the entire area, concealing the cloaked blonde from sight as he leapt to the roof, alighting just on the edge and looking down into the thick mist. "Well, now I know why Zabuza favored the hidden mist jutsu," he muttered. Turning, he began taking off in the direction he had watched Chandra run off in. The Thopters would be on their tails soon enough.

He hastily maneuvered from rooftop to rooftop, and within moments, he was running the edge of one of the buildings, paralleling Chandra herself. Knowing speed was of the essence, he leapt down into the alley, causing Chandra to shriek as Naruto swept her off her feet, carrying her bridal style as he leaped back to the rooftops. Already his ears could pick up the sound of the whirlers, and as Chandra's grip around his neck tightened, he increased his speed. "Chandra," he said, deadly serious. "I don't know if I can outrun the thopters if they know where we are. If they catch us, I can distract them, you take the Æther and you run. And if you don't think you can make it to your contact, ditch the canister, and you bail, do you understand?"

"Naruto, you can't be serious!" Chandra argued. "I can help, I can-"

"No buts," Naruto shot back, looking over his shoulder, spying the thopters drawing closer and closer, the incessant beating of their mechanical wings giving him a headache already. "I am not going back home to tell your parents that the Consuls got you because I let you be in harms way." Unbeknownst to Naruto, Chandra's hands were once more beginning to glow from within. Realizing that the fliers were gaining ground faster than he could put it between them, Naruto stopped, placing the red-head on the ground, before getting between her and the whirlers. Whipping around, Naruto tried to glare at Chandra. Tried to yell at her once more to run. But he finally saw her hands. Even through her dark gloves, he could see her skin glowing a fiery red, the light piercing even her leather hand-covers. Shaking off his shock, he decided it was not the time nor the place.

"Chandra, I'm not going to tell you again!"

"NO!" she shouted, throwing her hands down as she stomped her foot. "I am not leaving you by yourself!" It finally became too much for the red-head, and with a fiery burst, her hands became engulfed in flame. Naruto was rendered speechless once more. This wasn't jutsu, it couldn't be. One didn't just accidentally perform a jutsu. This was magic. That could happen by accident. It was, after all, how he came to be in the Nalaar family's employ. He supposed he should be glad that she just conjured fire, instead of popping out of existence.

If Naruto was in shock, Chandra was panicking. She'd never used magic before, and in fact, Naruto was the only one she'd ever seen use it. "Whoa!" she shouted, flailing her arms. A ball of fire shot from her hand, licking her fingertips like a playful pup as it rocketed past Naruto. The ball of flame continued to soar, before colliding with one of the thopters, creating a rather impressive explosion. Chandra continued trying to put out the fire, sending gouts of flame out from her hands. She froze as Naruto gripped her wrists, and the fire instantly extinguished, seemingly unwilling to harm the blond.

Throwing his scarf around Chandra's lower face as the rest of the thopters arrived, although the Soldiers already saw her face, Naruto and the red-head went back-to-back. Naruto reached into a pouch on his belt, pulling out two specially kunai, crafted by Kiran's own hands. A bit more ornate than the Kunai back home, but one of the best he could say he'd ever had the pleasure of holding. "Think you can do that fire thing again?" Chandra bit her bottom lip.

"I don't know how I did it the first time..." she stammered, still a little put off by the fact that her hands were on fire moments before.

"Right...Hang on..." Casting his fog spell once more, he used the moment to tear into one of the hovering machines. The rest of the last three thopters, unable to see through the magical mist, began to fly in circles, using their speed and their rotary wings to thin the fog, allowing their lenses to be able to make out the two humans. While two began to tag team Naruto, recognizing him as holding a weapon, the remaining trained itself on Chandra, who put her hands in a basic defensive position as she began to back away.

As the thopter shot at Chandra, the red-head leapt to the side, barely dodging the flying hunk of metal and gears. As it swooped down again, Chandra leapt to an adjacent rooftop. Following a piece of advice from Naruto, she managed to tuck into a roll, which helped shake the shock a bit as she scrambled to her feet once more. "Come on, Fire, work with me here," she uttered, half panicked, as she threw her arms forward. Tucking into another roll to avoid yet another sweep, she through both palms forward once again. They glowed a bit, but not much else. Between her lack of control over her new powers and having to dance with a thopter, the child in Chandra bubbled to the surface.

"Oh, COME ON!" she shouted, stomping her foot. "You start on fire for no reason before and now when I need you, nothing?!"

"Chandra!" Naruto shouted, swiping with his kunai, but hitting nothing but air. "You need to focus your mana!"

"And how do I-WHOA!...Do that?!" She shrieked, between ducking one of the thopters. Naruto just groaned nervously.

"Sorry...Fire is a red-mana thing, according to my scroll," he shouted back. "And as far as I know, I don't have that kind of alignment!"

"So, you can't use mana that isn't your color?" she shouted, her eye beginning to twitch.

"Well, you can, but it's supposedly really hard," replied the Blonde, finally managing to slice into one of the two swarming thopters.

"Well, aren't you a big help!" she shouted, leaping back to the first building, nabbing the wreckage of the thopter that Naruto had just forced to crash, using a few gears to try and throw like Naruto did with his shuriken.

"I told you to run!" Naruto countered.

"And I told you, no way!" Chandra shouted, once more stomping her foot. Feeling that surge of heat once more, her hands burst into flames once again, lighting up like two great torches on that rooftop. "Finally!" she shouted, winding up and throwing a gear, which was now alight from the oil. It smashed into the thopter on her tail, causing it to erupt in an explosion. Turning, she released another fiery blast, this time aimed at the whirler that was still taking shots at Naruto.

"Whoa!" Naruto yelled, ducking low as the heat of the flames tickled his cheek. Standing back up once his thopter opponent was smoldering on the floor. "Warn a guy next time." Chandra cringed a bit.

"Sorry..." she announced, having gotten carried away. She almost shrieked again as Naruto once more scooped her up, bridal style.

"Come on, Matchstick," he said, flatly. "You still got the shipment?" At Chandra's nod, he continued. "We need to finish this delivery, and then you'll need to lay low. Most of their search should focus on me, but when they don't find me, they'll follow up on you, and they've seen your face."

"What are we going to do?" Chandra asked, ashamed at herself. She let Naruto down. She let her parents down. Not only had she once again turned out a failure, but she had jeopardized the Nalaar's entire operation. But the fire. How was it she did what she did...and could that be her true calling?

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Running. They were just running away under cover of darkness, and Naruto hated it. Protecting those that you care about was one thing, but he HAD a plan. He had suggested turning himself in, along with a clone disguised as Chandra. Naruto was certain that he could escape captivity, but Pia and Kiran wouldn't hear of it. And that said nothing for Chandra, who lit up like one of Sasuke's fireballs at the mere mention of him 'surrendering' to Baral. So now, the family, as well as the genin under their employ, were fleeing. New names had to be selected, new life details memorized. To their credit, Kiran had managed to set these new identities up years prior, a failsafe in the event that the Consul forces had caught onto them.

Pia, in an attempt to lighten the mood - or at least snap Chandra out of her stupor - jokingly suggested that they would tell anyone who asked that the two children were betrothed to one another. It got the expected rise out of them both, though to Naruto's credit, at least he didn't nearly incinerate their wagon at the joke.

And of course, Chandra had come to realize through her mother as well as Naruto's scroll, that she was a Pyromancer. A magic user with a natural affinity toward summoning and manipulating fire. With her emotions and adrenaline running high, she had unknowingly tapped into her magic. But that brought up something else in Naruto's mind. When Chandra had first used her magic, she had summoned fire. Used fire. She didn't disappear. She wasn't ripped from her home. So what was the difference? Was she also capable of this ability, or was it only Naruto? Did it have to do with the level of need? Naruto was seconds from death, Chandra was merely having a freakout. It was all so confusing for Naruto. Hopefully, as he continued to learn the intricacies of mana and its uses, he could figure out how to get back home. He looked on at his so-called 'betrothed,' as she and her mother slept, Kiran driving the wagon. Naruto couldn't sleep. His dreams were getting more and more outlandish, almost purposefully cryptic. He was certain the answer was in there somewhere. He was also sure that the Kyuubi, who had been strangely quiet since he'd arrived in Kaladesh, had some hand in distorting his dreams. The fox didn't want him to return to Konoha, Naruto just knew it. But why? What could he have here that he couldn't have in the Nations?

The sun began to pierce the horizon, catching Naruto's attention as it illuminated the land, glaring at the massive city that was Ghirapur as it receded into the distance. He remembered his first time outside the gates of Konoha, and how he felt then. He felt powerful. Felt alive. How must this family feel? It wasn't just Kyuubi that was affecting his sleep. He had been trapped in his thoughts all night, the guilt of it all threatening to crush the budding mage beneath its weight. Had he just stepped in sooner...He had been trailing Chandra since she had left on her delivery. He knew she was coming close to the soldiers, but he had gotten distracted by a passing thopter patrol. He could have distracted them. He could have made a clone to get Chandra while he himself hid. There had to have been something he could have done, and he didn't do it. He didn't think, and now this family was uprooting their lives, not even letting him give himself up.

Naruto blinked a few times as the sun began to hurt his tired eyes. Feeling a weight on his chest, the blonde looked down to find Chandra had rolled over in her sleep, and now slept soundly using the genin as a pillow. Placing his hand in her hair, he simply let it flow through his fingers, as his eyes became trained on her ankle, something he had mended with his own mana. Chandra wasn't much for putting thought into her own decisions either. She was impulsive, reckless, hot-headed. Much like himself. He actually smiled a bit at the irony of Chandra being a _literal_ hot-head. The signs were all there.

"Naruto?" said boy raised his head to look at Kiran, who fixed him with a rather serious gaze. When Naruto pulled his hand away from Chandra, the eleven-year-old girl unconsciously pouting in her sleep, Kiran just chuckled. "Don't worry, that wasn't what I wanted. Besides, you are supposed to be engaged, right?"

"I thought that was a joke?!" Naruto hissed, trying not to wake the sleeping ladies. Kiran just waved him off, not bothering to inform Naruto if he was joking or not.

"I was wondering if you could do me a favor," he continued. "For the foreseeable future, our home is going to be the road. But when we do find a place to settle - whether it be for a few hours, or a few months - I have a job for you."

"Name it," Naruto whispered, now even further indebted to the man. He wasn't sure he could ever make this one up to him, so whatever he asked for, the blonde would do it to the best of his ability.

"I want you to teach Chandra how to fight. No doubt the Consul forces will come looking for us. Especially when they realize what you and Chandra are," he said, rather solemnly. "Give my daughter a fighting chance should they find us. Keep her safe should anything happen. Can you do that for me?"

Naruto nodded in a heartbeat. Kiran didn't need to ask that. Chandra was Naruto's friend, and he'd protect her with his life if he had to. "I give you my word," he said. "And I never break my promises.:

Kiran seemed satisfied with that answer, nodding as he turned back to the road.

As images of his battle with Sasuke began to flash in his head, the idea that he had failed to bring him back...failed to keep his promise to Sakura, he repeated sorrowfully, under his breath. _"Never again..."_

Chapter end.

So, Chandra has unlocked her Pyromancy, and Naruto has learned two of the greatest troll spells in mtg history. Fog, and Turn to Frog.

 **It was brought to my attention by missing-nin class-S that some of you might be wondering the reason behind Naruto's color identity leaning toward Bant (Blue/Green/White) instead of Naya (Red/Green/White). This was my response.**

" _ **Mana theory in terms of color-to-personality matches isn't exactly an exact science. I had thought about Naya, but decided on Bant because of what the plane of Bant consists of. Knights. Soldiers. Noble warriors who fight for justice, and glorious angels. It is the chosen home of Gideon Jura, and the one time choosen home of Elspeth Tirel. As for exalted, as an ability, it exemplifies everything Naruto is, ie, deriving strength from those who cannot fight for themselves. The strength of armies joined into one warrior who fights for all.**_

 _ **As for the colors as individuals, green is the color of the untamed nature, and is derived from the trees and forests. Not only does this scream 'Leaf Ninja' and 'Sage', but it also embodies the unbending will the blonde ninja possesses.**_

 _ **White is the color of law, order, justice, and life. That should be self explanatory. What our major difference is, is that I went with Blue as his third alignment, while Naya uses red. Both are fitting choices for differing reasons. Red mana exemplifies freedom, fire, individualism. While once again, that would be quite fitting, I decided on Blue for two reasons. Reason one, what is the defining trait of a blue mage? Cunning. Craftiness. What is Naruto's most surprising trait? He's a genius in combat, coming up with ridiculous (but often successful) strategies on the fly. Besides that it also allows for illusion spells, covering his ineptitude with Genjutsu, in a small way. Reason two is that we already have a ridiculously powerful red-mage not just in this story, but slated to be paired with Naruto. Chandra is very special, and making Naruto a fire-and-lightning spewer merely takes away from her as a character."**_

 **Hopefully that cleared some things up for you guys!**

Peace to all my Fans

Fan of Fanfics.


	4. Chapter 4

Next chapter is up, yay! Hope you all like.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own Magic: The Gathering.

The morning air was crisp and clean in the forest that day. Excellent training weather. All was quiet, as the nearest town was a few miles away at least, and the little clearing was generally free of wildlife. The earth was a tad muddy, the grass damp with dew, and the bark of the trees was plenty soaked, all products of the rather heavy rain that had come down the night before. The only dry object in the area was a straw target, made to roughly look something like a human. It wasn't anything particularly fancy, but it was more than suitable for the needs of the two children. With a battle cry, gout of flames rocketed through the air, slamming into the target, setting it ablaze in an instant. Chandra's eyes danced with the flickering flame, and she released a cheer of jubilation. Naruto smiled brightly back at the red-head, just as excited as she was. The small group had been wandering the small villages and towns for near a month now, moving from place to place, trying to keep their identities a secret, and to keep the Consul forces off their tails.

Naruto, for his part, had come through on his promise to Kiran, and had begun teaching the young pyromancer anything he could, be it basic Taijutsu, or letting her in on his scroll on basic magic. Unlike Naruto, who had a flair for three different colors of Mana, Chandra Nalaar was strictly a red mage. But what she lacked in variation, he found she more than made up for in raw power. Not only could she create and direct blasts of fire, but she could also control fire around her, shape it. Infuse it with her will and watch it do her bidding. Her natural affinity for fire was astounding, and he was sure back in the nations, Chandra would have been considered a born genius. Of course, on Kaladesh, only with Naruto could she let her true talent shine, and this saddened him. The Consuls so feared anything out of the ordinary, like Magic, that Chandra would be forced to spend her life denying her true self, denying her passion.

He watched as Chandra directed the flames consuming the straw figure to twirl, a torrent of fire forming a graceful funnel as it spun in a tornado-like way. Every breath she took breathing more life to the flames, every motion infusing them with energy, much like a puppet master giving a marionette the appearance of life. He watched as she pulled the flames to her, let them caress her skin without causing any harm, engulf her not to consume, but to accept her as their master. No, Naruto thought after a moment. Not a master, but an equal. In many respects, Chandra _was_ fire. Her brashness, furious temper, and will to overcome any obstacle in her way made her much like the fiery magic she held at her disposal. Of course, while she'd never admit it, she really was a sweet girl. She had a fierce sense of right and wrong, and would never attack anyone or anything unless provoked. But get her riled up and she would make you regret it. So it was very fitting that in the end, fire was her gift.

The red-head called the flames, willing them into her offered hand, which arced across her fingertips, licking them warmly and gently. She reduced the ball of fire in her palm, closing her other hand hand over it, effectively smothering the flames. She looked to Naruto, pleased with her growing skills, and her pleasure grew upon seeing the similar look on his own face. Upon hearing the cry of a circling bird overhead, Naruto smirked, before his left hand took on a green hue. He threw his hand upward toward the bird, the mana arcing like green lightning through the air, striking its target. In an explosive manner, the creature in the air suddenly tripled in size, going from about the size of Naruto's hand to the size of the genin himself. Unfortunately, the bird, angered by the shock and change, easily picked up on Naruto's happy cheering, and circled around, looping into a dive-bomb.

Eyes widening, Naruto ducked down, trying to avoid the wrath he had spurred in the winged-beast. Chandra lit her hands once more to try and scare the enlarged bird away, but as it reached forward with its newly enhanced talons, the spell cast by Naruto wore away. It rapidly began to revert to its original size, the added mass burning away, steaming off the avian form. By the time it had reached the blonde, it had completely returned to normal. Seemingly understanding its restored status, the creature pulled up at the last minute, narrowing skimming the top of Naruto's hair.

The fire dying in her hands, Chandra nearly doubled over in laughter, clutching her stomach with one hand as she pointed at Naruto with the other. The blonde grabbed at his head, as if to make sure it was still there. He stood and let loose a sigh of relief, before glaring at the red-head, who at this point was using both hands to cover her mouth to muffle her laughter. Naruto playfully shoved the girl, who in turn shoved him back. Expecting this, Naruto gripped her arm, dropping to the ground, using his legs to throw Chandra over him and onto her back. Smirking, he flipped to his feet. He smiled brightly at her flushed cheeks and narrow glare, crouching down to speak face to face. "How about we work on your Taijutsu?" he suggested. A lethal smile etched over the girl's face, and in an explosion of movement, she twisted on the ground, attempting to sweep his legs from beneath him. And had Naruto not been quicker than her, she would have succeeded in putting the blonde on his ass.

Naruto leapt back as Chandra rolled over and hopped back into a standing position, putting her hands up in a basic guarded stance. As the blonde rushed her, Chandra twisted out of his fists path, ducking low as he spun and tried to smack her face with a back-hand. Dropping to a knee, she attempted a dragon-tail sweep to relieve him of his footing, but being the more experienced fighter, Naruto used the forced moment to bend back into a hand-spring, sending him flying into the air. Foot aflame, Chandra let loose a kick, sending a gout of flame Naruto's way. Eyes widening, Naruto engulfed himself in white mana, using it as a rudimentary shield as he landed right in the fire's path. He felt the raging heat, but the white mana served to protect his skin and insides from roasting from it. He was a little miffed, first that she had used her flames when he had specifically said he wanted Taijutsu, and second that she had thrown flames at him in general. He shot her a glare, and she just did her best to look completely innocent. Hands behind her back, eyes looking anywhere but the blonde, gently kicking at the grass beneath her feet. Naruto's glare softened as he looked at the face that even he had to admit was kind of, dare he think it, cute.

"Um, oops?" she semi-apologized, a heated blush adorning her cheeks. Naruto just sighed, settling back into a fighting stance.

"I pity the man who marries you," Naruto said, jokingly, causing Chandra to adopt the blonde's earlier glare.

"Isn't that supposed to be you," she shot back. It was half-true. They had been traveling over the countryside, giving false names and histories in each new city. What did not change, however, was her mother's sense of humor, always maintaining, no matter their fabricated backstory, that she and the blonde were betrothed to one-another, promised to be married. It infuriated the eleven-year old girl. She and Naruto were friends. Best friends, actually, seeing as he was probably her only friend. She didn't want to marry him, and she had a sneaking suspicion that Naruto felt the exact same way. She dropped back into her sparring stance, her guard up and bouncing slightly from foot to foot. It was a basic stance that Naruto had taught her. She loved when he taught her something from his home. Chandra, since the moment the blonde had shared with her about the Elemental Nation, about this place called Konoha, she had promised herself that she would find a way to see them, no matter what. With every bit of knowledge, useful or not, she felt a little closer to her goal, her desire. With a battle cry, the red-head rushed her friend.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Baral held his stoic demeanor, even after sweeping the reports littering his desk for the third time. Searching for any trace of the rebel girl and her mage friend. Thopters and soldier were scattering across the countryside and the Consuls were growing impatient in his efforts to find them. They lacked the ability to foresee the consequences of leaving those two to their devices. But so far, the only information the Captain had discovered was the names of his quarry. The Nalaar family, consisting of Pia and Kiran Nalaar, and their daughter, eleven-year-old Chandra. She was apparently an only child. The blonde one was called Naruto Uzumaki, and despite his young appearance, he was a capable fighter, and skilled in magic for one so young. No family - though Uzumaki could be an alias of some sort - and until about 6 months prior, he did not even seem to exist.

The Captain was not an idiot, by any stretch of the imagination. He knew the old legends regarding the use of magic, as well as the storied 'Planeswalkers.' Beings gifted with the ability to travel at will to the various planes of the vast multiverse. Such beings, in Baral's view, were abominations. An affront to the natural order. Without limits, there is no promise of control, and without control, Chaos ruled. And Chaos was not to be tolerated. If this boy was a planeswalker, as Baral had theorized, things would only spiral out of control. If he was lucky, the young blonde wouldn't even know what he was or how to planeswalk, then the Captain still had a small window of opportunity to eliminate the issue before it grew beyond his capacity to handle. But that meant he and his men had to work faster, had to work harder.

And then there was the girl herself. According to the last reports from the thopters they had sent after the two children, young Chandra defeated a few herself, summoning fire and commanding it, bending it to her will. She was a ticking time-bomb of destruction, and if let loose upon Kaladesh she could completely undo everything the Consuls had build, everything he and his soldiers fought to uphold. Fire was useful only in its capacity to destroy, and at the command of a volatile, pubescent girl, it would only spread and consume, eradicating anything in its path. Despite her lack of combat skill, which Uzumaki seemed to have in spades, she more than made up for it in raw power. She would be the larger threat. To that end, he had numerous soldiers and artificers trying to create something which could contain or repress that power. Baral would have to deal with the boy himself.

He stared at the map of the country, small pins placed in the location of any potential lead. His light flickered with the flames of the candles as the door to his office was opened. He didn't look, but knew his subordinate was giving him a respectful salute. "Thopters have sighted the Nalaars, and Uzumaki," the messenger stated, prompting the captain to turn and look at the young woman who wore the soldier's uniform. "Your men are prepped and await your orders." Baral nodded, adopting a thoughtful, if not dour look.

"Tell the men to stand down," he responded. "Keep tabs on the targets from a distance, track them. I'm not going to risk losing a battalion until we have a way to suppress the girl's pyromancy." Looking confused, the messenger nodded, but felt the need to voice her concerns.

"Captain, why must they be taken alive? We could take them by surprise before the children could respond with their magic, and it would be much more humane, and potentially painless" she questioned. She knew there was no way that they would escape death, but she never signed up for killing kids. For a split second, she thought she saw the Captain smile, but then it was gone.

"Those children represent the antithesis of everything we and the Consuls stand for. Destruction, disobedience, chaos...And in their illegal activities, they have become beacons of inspiration to the masses they have smuggled contraband to. Uzumaki especially. If our reports are correct, he managed to, single-handed, increase the size of their operation by five-hundred percent. They are no longer mere children. They represent something, and their punishment must be both public, and severe...And we only need take the children alive. Kiran and Pia Nalaar are traitors, yes, and the leaders of their operation, but it's the children who inspire, the children who will ultimately draw support for their cause. The parents are inconsequential." Baral spoke in his hoarse whisper, his raspy voice only made colder by the subject matter. He eyed his subordinate, seeing her shiver a bit at his declaration. Perhaps she was not fit for duty under him. He would see about finding her a nice administrative role. "Is that a problem, Lieutenant?"

"...no, Sir. Forgive my boldness, Captain," she replied, bowing her head apologetically, but Baral held up his hand to signal her to listen.

"Good. Relay my orders, and then find out where we are in terms of that flame suppression." A simple salute was his reply, as the Soldier slipped out of his office, and he went back to his map. The moment that he and his men had a way to contain the ancient and archaic power those two were undoubtedly were growing more proficient in by the day, they would be taken down swiftly, and brought to justice before the whole of Ghirapur. And when it was done, never again would mages, the barbaric remnants of ages past, interfere with the progression into the future, to order. In this, Kaladesh's glorious enlightened age, there was no room for the chaos of old. And like ants, rising from the dirt, Baral made it his great mission in life to stamp them all out.

He sat at his desk, absently flipping through a few reports, mostly on the artificers' ideas and attempts to create a suppression system. The most promising idea was a re-purposed device known as a vent pack. Used as a way to vent surplus energy in Æther collectors, they could potential be modified to prevent the build-up of mana - the energy used by mages to use their magic - and thus render the two powerless. It was just one of many avenues they were exploring, and they would then still need to find a way to get the devices on the two safely. But as long as the devices worked, they would be able to hold the children until their public punishment.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Naruto dipped his feet in the small stream, the cool water feeling good between his toes. Chandra knelt down next to the flowing water, taking some of the clear, fresh liquid in her cupped hands. She let the water moisten her mouth and throat, which was dry from their morning of training. Rather than take a second handful, the girl proceeded next to dunk her entire head beneath the surface, soaking her sweat-covered face and hair. Throwing herself back above the water, she breathed in deeply, and her now soaked hair was matted against her face. Naruto chuckled at Chandra's drenched look, prompting the red-head to stick out her tongue, before shoving the blonde into the water with a great splash. As he popped back up, completely and totally drenched himself. The Pyromancer just smirked, her form beginning to steam as she heated herself, instantly drying. Naruto had to cover his mouth, and her cocky grin turned into a look of confusion as he began to laugh, wheezing uncontrollably.

Moving to the water's edge, she looked at her reflection and blushed. Her hair was no longer wet. However, it had frizzed from the heat, sticking out in all directions, unkempt and mangled. She tentatively ran her fingers over the messy strands, trying to bring it back under control. She looked to her the blonde, than back to her reflection, than once more to Naruto, before she too began to shake with laughter, kicking water at the blonde, who splashed water back in response. Chandra never saw Naruto's clone sneak around and come up from behind her. Smirking, it grabbed her, pulling her down into the stream as well. She popped up next to the real blonde, his clone dispersing upon reaching the water. Gasping for air, she just glared at the shinobi, who just replied with that infectiously stupid grin of his. It wasn't long before she couldn't fight it anymore and once again engaged in raucous laughter, the blonde joining in.

Chandra reached out and pulled the blonde ninja into a hug, clinging to her best friend, laughing as she rested her head on his shoulder. Naruto blushed a bit, but returned the embrace. It wasn't the first hug the two had shared, but Naruto found the display of affection, despite there being no romantic element within, to be somewhat awkward seeing that they were pretending to be engaged. But in spite of that, he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her as well. Their water-logged clothes caused their movement to slow even further beneath the water's surface. Just the same, Naruto gently stroked the girl's back, and brushed some wet hair from her face.

Ever since learning about the Kyuubi, the ancient Nine-Tailed Fox demon sealed inside of him, Naruto had had to come to grips with a lot of things. Like the idea that his family, disgusted, had abandoned him. The Old Man had assured him this was not the case, and even the Pervy Sage had been rather adamant that his parents, whoever they were, had died during the Kyuubi's attack on the Hidden Leaf. Another thing he had realized, was that any chance of a romantic relationship, with anyone, would be impossible. Sooner or later, the girl would realize what he was and come to fear and hate him. But as Naruto lay in the stream with Chandra, a thought occurred to him. He wasn't in Konoha. He wasn't even in the Elemental Nations. Chandra was not simply unaware that he was the Kyuubi's jinchuriki, she was unaware what the Kyuubi or a jinchuriki were. It would never need to come up. She would never need to know. A strange feeling washed over the blonde, as he realized that while he might not be able to be a Hokage here, he could be literally anything else he wanted. He was unrelentingly free of the jinchuriki's fate. Free of the fear and the hateful stares. Free from a life as a living weapon. And in a moment of impulsiveness, Naruto leaned in and kissed the top of Chandra's head.

Chandra froze for a moment, and looked up to see the blonde - now thoroughly embarrassed - looking literally anywhere else. Blushing, she lightly smiled, before playfully punching Naruto in the shoulder. "You're an idiot, you know that?" she teased, the Blonde just shooting her that cheshire grin of his as he rubbed the back of his still-soaked hair. Chandra began to make her way out of the water. "Come one, dear. We'll be late to dinner with your future in-laws." She giggled a bit at Naruto's blush as he too exited the water, rubbing his arms a bit to warm them.

"Think you can do that instant-dry on the both of us?" he questioned, Chandra just reflected his ear-to-ear grin with one of her own.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

After a solid five minutes of eating dinner in silence, Kiran finally broke it by asking the question. "So what exactly happened to your hair?" Now, Kiran admired his daughter's free spirit, and very much allowed her to make her own decisions unless he thought doing so would threaten her safety. But when she and Naruto arrived home from training all day in the forest, both of them eschewing their usual looks for near identical-looking frizzled afros, it had certainly caught his attention. The two just looked at each other, grinning, and Pia found it rather infectious, laughing with them.

"I rather like it," she announced, lightly touching her daughter's hair. "It's kind of cute. And besides, change is a good thing. And it's even more adorable that they have matching haircuts." Naruto blushed at Pia's gushing, while Chandra's eye began to twitch.

"Mother dear, please don't get used to it. We simply fell into the stream during training, and when I attempted to dry us...this happened." Pia pouted for a moment, but regained her mischievous smile when the stream was brought up. She decided to save that tidbit for later to tease her daughter with, and instead turned to the blonde.

"How is training going?" she asked, and Kiran turned to look at Naruto as well. For good reason, as it was he who requested that Naruto teach his daughter to fight. Naruto, whose mouth was full, held up his finger to request a moment, and then swallowed his food in one gulp.

"She's a quick learner, though she can only go so far without chakra. But she's been making up for that by combining her magic with her taijutsu-" Chandra blushed a little at this, remembering earlier when she had kicked a fireball at Naruto. "-and her control over her pyromancy has increased a lot, thanks to some help from my scroll. She still has a way to go, but I'd say nobody is getting at her without a pretty wicked fight." The parents each nodded, an easy smile overtaking their faces. While they put on brave faces, they couldn't deny they were constantly worried for Chandra's safety. Worried the Consul forces would track them down and take her away, or worse. It greatly eased their fears that Naruto was teaching her, that he was protecting her.

"Good," Kiran replied, speaking between bites of his meal. "Keep at it. Within the next week we'll be moving on to the next town." Chandra eyed her father, simply poking at her food, and the Nalaar family patriarch took note. "You have something you wish to say, Chandra?"

"It's just..." she began, looking down and away from Kiran, but quickly regained her composure and looked her father directly in the eyes. "How much longer are we to keep running, Father? What is the use of teaching me to use my gift, of teaching me to fight, if we are to keep fleeing from the Consuls and their soldiers?" Kiran sighed, reaching over to place his hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Chandra, you and Naruto are perhaps the strongest people that I have ever met," he replied, trying to explain the reality to his daughter. "But the two of you cannot fight the entire army of the consuls. Even Naruto, with his warrior skills and clones, would not last. The Consuls employ more than men and women. But also massive machines, designed solely to bring death to those that would challenge their authority. You can outsmart a few soldiers, overpower a few devices. But in the end, they would overwhelm you. It's how they have maintained their rule for generations."

"I still believe we should have gone with my plan," Naruto announced, drawing the attention to himself. "I could have turned myself in, with a clone to look like Chandra. And then-"

"-And then the Consuls would have come for us whether you surrendered or not. Regardless of your plan Naruto, we would be running either way," Pia assured him. "Besides, do you really think we could have lived with ourselves if you turned yourself in, to very likely be executed?" She stood and moved behind Naruto, embracing him from behind and resting her chin on his head. "As far as we're concerned, you're as much a member of our family as any of us. And we're in this as a family." Her words struck a chord in Naruto for the second time that day. That feeling of freedom and belonging washing through him, a warm euphoria that he wished to cling on to as long as possible. "We'll figure something out, but for now, keeping on the move is our best option."

The rest of dinner was finished in silence, after which the children decided to get some sleep, each moving to their rooms in the old shack they were calling home for the time being. While Naruto fell asleep almost immediately, Chandra took the time to brush her hair, bringing it back to its original state. While she brushed the red locks, her mind drifted to what her father had said. About the Consul forces. That they were relentless and numerous. That they would not rest until she and her family was stamped out. She thought back to that day in the market. Had she been a bit smarter, a bit quicker, all of this could have been avoided. They would still be back home, they would not be hunted.

Everything that had transpired since then was her fault. It was her fault for not being strong enough to traverse the rooftops instead of taking the streets. It was her decision to play the late school-girl, sharing her face with the soldiers and the thopters. And saving her had only revealed Naruto's existence to the Soldiers and the Consuls. Because of her, her best friend put himself on the line, going so far as to suggest surrendering to them just to keep her safe. And even with her powerful gift, and the training Naruto was giving her, she had no way to make it all right. Her parents had spend a great deal of time attempting to explain that it wasn't her fault, but Chandra was unconvinced. Was it her destiny to constantly screw up?

Chapter End

So, not a whole lot happening in this chapter, it's essentially building up to something far greater. As I pointed out before, there will be other Planeswalkers appearing later on, but for right now, I think it's more important that we establish Naruto and Chandra as characters a bit more before the story branches out to other points of the Multiverse. I may NOT have pointed out before that this story is only the first of at least two different fics, and will be rather short. But it will be long enough to establish and build up the plot points in the next story.

Also, just curious, and this has nothing to do with the story, but to any players of MTG, what is your favorite format to play, and what kind of deck do you prefer. I prefer Commander/EDH format, playing with decks varying from Zombies commanded by Grimgrin, Corpse-Born, to Colorless Eldrazi, to a Bant Exalted deck, commanded by Rafiq of the Many, and Yes, that is where the title of this fic comes from. Leave you answers in the review box, or shoot me a PM. I'd love to hear about your decks and play styles.

Peace to all my Fans

Fan of Fanfics


	5. Chapter 5

Finally, the new chapter. Most of what I want to say will be in the end note, so I'll just leave you with the advice to read the note at the bottom, and try to enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own Magic: The Gathering.

Naruto wandered the forest by himself. The night had come, and the Nalaar family had all fallen into peaceful slumber. Not the blonde, however. He had been roused once more by his strange, fragmented dream, and rather than fall back asleep, the genin had opted to take a walk through the surrounding wilderness. The place had a peaceful air about it at night, and Naruto idly noted how much shorter and thinner the trees were here than back at home. However, things weren't as calm as they seemed, and Naruto clutched a Kunai, charging it with mana. He wasn't really sure what it could do, but it was for some reason the only thing he could think to do.

Hearing a twig snap, Naruto threw the weapon into the shadows of the thickets. The moment it left his hands, aglow with a bright green hue. As it faded from view, Naruto waited for telltale sound of the throwing-knife hitting...anything. However, no such sound resonated, and from the darkness, someone emerged, his kunai knife in her hand.

This new woman was as pale as the moon, with long, dark hair as black as the night itself. She was garbed in an ornate dress, trimmed in black and gold, and her face was framed by a golden headpiece. Despite her beauty, Naruto felt a chill. Something in his mind that told him to be weary. The newcomer stuck her lips out in a pout as she held his weapon up to view it in the moonlight. "Oh dear," she said, a dark miasma - saturating the air with what Naruto instinctively knew to be black mana - forming around her hand and the clutched kunai. "What's a sweet young thing like yourself doing wandering these woods at night, armed with a weapon like this." Her voice was melodic, almost to the point of being hypnotic, but Naruto still held his guard.

Reacting to her black mana in a far different way than it had to the green mana Naruto had called through it, the kunai began to corrode, rusting and withering away in her grip. Squeezing a bit tighter, the woman ground the throwing-knife into so-much dust, before allowing it to blow away in the breeze. "It's not safe out here," he replied, trying to settle into his fighting stance without drawing too much attention. "You never know when you could be attacked by a wild beast, or a dark enchantress crosses your path." The woman smiled, sauntering over to the tense Naruto.

"I'd prefer the term, Goddess, but I suppose Enchantress will do," she announced, circling Naruto much the same way a predator would encircle their prey. But despite himself, Naruto couldn't bring himself to leave, no matter how dark of a vibe this person was putting out. "I'm known as Liliana Vess. My friends - few though they are - call me Lili. Are you my friend, Naruto?" Now Naruto was screaming in his mind for his body to move, but some force was keeping him rooted to his spot. He did, however, shiver as the now-named Liliana gently stroked his whiskered cheek.

Who the hell was this woman? How did she know his name? Did she have a connection to the Consuls? Had she come to arrest the Nalaar family and himself? Or worse, assassinate them? "Don't worry," she continued. "Your little friend and her family don't concern me. My one, simple reason for being here tonight, is you, little Planeswalker..."

"Planeswalker?" Naruto demanded. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, Lady!"

"Clearly," she giggled. Unlike Chandra, this laugh was icy cold, and seemed to sting Naruto with its sound. "You, child, are a remarkable creature. Born with a gift that on your own you can never understand." For a moment, Naruto thought she meant his status as a Jinchuriki. However, such was not the case as Liliana continued. "This place, Kaladesh, is not your original home. You were born on a different plane of existence. And when your gift made itself known, your spark igniting, you walked to this plane." His mind going miles a minute, Naruto could only manage to say one thing.

"How do you know me?" he demanded. Liliana smiled, bending down slightly to look the younger boy in the eye.

"A...friend of mine...has an interest in you. I owe him a favor, and the sooner I give this to you, the sooner I can get back to my own life." Gripping his hand in hers, Naruto felt more than saw her slip something into it. "In time, he'll make himself known. But for now, I give you this." Still frozen in place, Naruto kept his eyes glued to the Lady Vess as she stepped back into the shadows. Once she had left - taking her malicious presence with her - Naruto was once more able to move. Looking at the simple, brown-paper package, he at first debated opening it. That woman, Liliana, was obviously bad news. But she also knew things. Things about who, and maybe what he was.

Removing the strings binding the wrapping, he slowly uncovered a circular piece of metal. It was a medallion of some kind, etched with a symbol in its center. He wasn't really sure what the emblem was. It kind of looked to him like a bean, being picked up with a pair of tweezers or tongs. Slowly, he brought his other hand up and brushed the etching with his fingers.

And in an instant, his mind was assaulted by images, numerous brief and wickedly painful. Each vision, however, shared a commonality. What Naruto could only describe as a massive dragon, winged and terrifying, with a pair of massive horns adorning his head like a crown, and an orb of some kind floating evenly between the two. Unsure of what the images were, he could only think of one word, a strange word. The word was 'Bolas.'

The things he felt filling his mind and soul were akin to the what he felt when using mana. He didn't just see the dragon, he felt it. Could touch its mana alignment. The blue mana - as Naruto possessed that alignment as well - was familiar. As was the red mana, as while it felt much more raw in the beastly figure, he recognized the feeling of it from his time with Chandra. But the last felt alien to the blonde, offering the same feeling as Liliana had moments ago. This was black mana. The energy of shadow, death, and decay. And the draconic being, this 'Bolas,' was absolutely saturated in it.

But there was something beyond the images. Beyond the overwhelming feeling of power that this dragon, Bolas, exuded. His own memories - as though being pulled forth by the medallion - were drawn to the forefront of his thoughts. His battle with Sasuke, the retrieval mission, seeking out Tsunade, the Chuunin exam finals, they all hit him one after another, going back further and further into his history. By this time, Naruto was on his knees, the strain on his mind beginning to show physically. He tried desperately to discard the coin, but his body would not respond with his mind being forced into overload. Thankfully, he was not the only thing in his mind.

The Kyuubi - like his host - could sense the power behind the dragon, and the name confirmed the Tailed-Beast's fears. He had thought that Nicol Bolas was a myth, a storied creature spoken of by his father as a parable, to sway he and his brethren away from the monstrosities that they would ultimately go on to commit anyway. This power ripping into Naruto's thoughts was a mere fraction of Bolas' as a whole, and even then, the Nine-tails realized he would be hard-pressed to combat such an enemy in the mental realm. Physically, he could perhaps match the dragon, but bound in a child, there was no way. He needed to end this mental assault before this fragment of Bolas reached the place where Naruto's mind connected to the seal.

Luckily, with Naruto's mind locked-in - and in monumental distress - the fox entity could directly circumvent the seal to protect him, and with a forceful push of his chakra, took control of the arm that clung to the medallion. The arm snapped out and tossed the coin, which shimmered in the moonlight as it morphed from a round metal into a more oval-like shape. Through Naruto's eyes, the fox saw this and scowled. One of the Elder Dragon's scales. Apparently just coming into contact with the bastard lizard was enough to peel away at the minds of others. Luckily, without prolonged contact, the damage could be healed easily enough.

As the scale piece flew from Naruto's hand, the images and feelings of the dragon began to fade, becoming shadows. Echoes of what they had been moments prior. His ears rung from an unheard cacophony of voices. Not wanting his host to fall into unconsciousness alone in a forest filled with wild beasts, the old Fox usurped control from the blonde. While this would normally be viewed as a major victory for the tailed-beast, the realization that not only was Nicol Bolas very real, but a very real threat - and that he had set his sights on his host - was much more interesting to the Kyuubi. Interesting enough for him to not even care about his taking control, nor did he care if he returned it to Naruto. He needed the boy now. It was no longer a case of simple 'you die, I die.'

As he walked Naruto's body back to the small home the Nalaar family were occupying for the time-being, he began to question the things he knew - or at least once knew - about his existence. His father had never mentioned magic, or other planes of reality, but must have somehow either known about them, or was oblivious to them and had still heard of Bolas and his atrocities. The latter was arguably worse.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Pia, Chandra, and Naruto shuffled through the street to the numerous shops they needed to visit that day. They would be leaving for the next village that night, and sadly were out of supplies for the road. Naruto had wished to go with Kiran, who was performing a few odd-jobs around the small town to earn any extra money that he could. However, Pia - concerned over Naruto's bloodshot and baggy eyes - decided that he was too tired, and made the rather forceful suggestion that he take it easy and go shopping with the girls. The blonde didn't even have the energy to argue after the previous night. And besides, there was something about the doting Nalaar Matriarch that made it hard to disagree.

Still, Naruto's head still hurt from last night's psychic assault, and he wasn't sure how he made it back to his bed. And from the corner of his eyes, flickering in his already hampered peripheral vision, he swore he kept seeing Liliana around every corner. Following him. Watching him. He couldn't really remember anything after she had left him. He definitely didn't remember returning home last night. But he definitely remembered the unease she inspired, despite being quite cordial and polite. A strange sound entered his ear. It took him a moment to realize that they were words. His name. Someone was speaking to him. "Hmm?" he questioned, seeing Chandra offering him a bite of the mango she had apparently acquired sometime during his tired mind-wandering.

Naruto took the offered fruit with a grateful nod, biting into it on the opposite side than Chandra herself. While Naruto normally wasn't one for fruits and vegetables, he couldn't deny that the Kaledesh Mango was growing on him. The juice dripped from his lips as he let the flavor linger within his mouth. They had a bit of a bite to them, but also a tangy sweetness that was hard to match. Probably why Chandra loved them herself.

"Are you sure nothing's bothering you?" Pia asked, concerned with Naruto's absentmindedness as of late. "You seem preoccupied lately."

"It's nothing," denied the blonde. "Just having trouble sleeping, I guess." While Pia knew in her gut that there was more to it than that, she just gave the boy an appraising look and a nod. She could ask him about it again later. Hearing the telltale sound of a thopter, she pulled her cloak hood up, ushering Naruto and Chandra beneath the shade of the awning. The thopter was soaring high within the air - likely collecting the ambient Æther - and wasn't likely to spot the small group in the crowd. However, Pia wasn't about to take such a chance. She had heard rumors that the Consuls were preparing to call off the manhunt for them, but she didn't believe it for a moment.

Likely, the rumors were being put out by the Consul soldiers as a way to make the family let down their guard. Instinctively, she moved close to her daughter and Naruto, absently wiping a bit of mango juice from Chandra's chin as she watched the device pass overhead, soaring off into the distance. Naruto chuckled as Chandra tried to swat her mother's hand away, only to get a punch in the shoulder for the trouble.

Once Pia was sure the thopter was far enough away that it would not be looping around, she hurried the children along. Whether an Æther collector or a patrol, she didn't want to be in any area after spotting a thopter, so the sooner they had their supplies and could leave town, the better. She had no idea that they were being followed. Not by the soldiers or the thopters. From a distance, Liliana watched as the small group hurriedly went about their business in the market, every-so-often making her presence known to the young planeswalker that Bolas had his sights on. She wasn't sure what the Dragon found so interesting regarding the boy. He had only the barest understanding of magic, and from his reactions the night previous, had no idea what a planeswalker was or how to perform the act of passing from one realm to another.

That wasn't to say he was without skill in his native arts. But from what Liliana could gleam from watching the two little mages, Naruto relied heavily on making copies of himself - copies that were easily dismissed and much weaker than the original - as well as pure physical ability. The dark enchantress raised an eyebrow as something crossed her vision. She was not the only one tailing Naruto and the Nalaar ladies. While the boy - looking only a few years older than Naruto and Chandra themselves - would have gone unnoticed to most, Liliana was much more experienced than the mortals in the market, and knew she was the only one seeing the cloaked young man. A slight shimmer hazed around his form and she felt compelled to look the other way, to not see him. It was only her own experience with illusion magic that allowed her to look past the rippled air and see the mage directly.

"And just who are you?" she wondered, barely above a whisper. She shook her head, deciding that not only did she not need to know the identity of the illusionist, but she didn't even need to be on Kaladesh at all, now that her favor owed to Bolas had been repaid. Backing into the shadows, she envisioned a new location, and unnoticed to passerby, she planeswalked away.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

He was having the dream again. That out of order memory splintered within his mind. But there was more now. He had a word to put to the phenomenon. Planeswalking. _"Naruto."_ Eyes opening, Naruto rocketed up, looking for the source of the strange voice. For a moment, he was confused. Not only was there nobody who could have spoken - the only other occupant of the room being the snoring Chandra in the cot on the opposite wall- but he also didn't recognize the room he was in. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, his mind came into focus and he remembered that he and the family had traveled to this village yesterday.

Not finding anyone, Naruto once again tried to settle back into sleep, before the voice spoke again. _"I'm outside the window..."_ Quirking a brow, Naruto snuck slowly to the dirty glass panes, looking out into the dark alley below. Waiting for him was a cloaked figure, and Naruto flinched when the young man looked up to him, eyes glowing a bright blue. _"Don't say anything. We're speaking telepathically, so as not to disturb anyone. However, if you would prefer, you may come down here and we can speak directly."_

" _Who are you?"_ Naruto thought back, a little creeped out speaking to someone solely through the mind. _"Why are you here?"_

" _Call me Jace,"_ replied the figure, motioning for Naruto to come down to meet him. He continued speaking as Naruto carefully opened the window, sneaking out and dropping from the second story. _"And I'm here tracking someone."_

"Tracking someone?" the Blonde asked, wary, but Jace raised his hands defensively.

"Not you or your family," he offered, trying to reassure Naruto, but the ninja didn't let down his guard. "You recently came into contact with someone who matches the description of a women who brutality killed an angel on Ravnica."

" _Ravnica?"_ Naruto thought, confused, before images of a large city, both like and unlike Ghirapur, entered his mind. Given Jace's once-more glowing eyes, it was apparent that he was directly supplying Naruto with the information rather than try to explain it. "Ok, stop that!" Naruto announced. "It'd be less of headache if you gave me the long explanation." As though to emphasize his point, Naruto began to rub his temples.

Jace took note of Naruto's eyes flashing red for a split second, but decided it didn't concern him for now. "Sorry," he said. "But time is of the essence. Yesterday, I heard you thinking about some Planeswalker who called herself Liliana. As I said, she matches the description of the culprit almost perfectly based on your recollection." Now Naruto was even more confused. Angels that not only exist, but could be killed. Possibly by the dark woman from the other night? A multitude of different planes of existence open for him? It was all becoming too much to handle.

"Yeah," Naruto replied. "She gave me something. A small package. I don't remember what was inside, and it wasn't on me when I woke up the next morning. But I suppose you know that too, if you've been digging around in my head."

The older boy clicked his tongue in semi-annoyance. Indeed, he had already tried to glean what Liliana had done to the boy, but everything after her departure had seemingly been wiped from Naruto's memory. At least to the shallow glances into his mind. But that was why Jace wished to see him in person. Raising his hands, he assured Naruto that he meant no harm. "It's ok. Looking into your mind is much less harsh than putting information into it." Naruto still looked unsure, but all the same nodded, letting Jace rest his fingers on the side of his head, his thumbs gently placed upon his forehead.

Neither of the two boys really understood what happened next. Jace quickly reached the memory he sought, getting a much clearer view of Liliana than he had glanced previously. He had to admit, her description - particularly the ones given by the enraged angelic hoards - didn't truly do the lady justice. He watched Liliana hand Naruto a little brown package. Before he could discover what had been put in the wrapped bundle, he was thrown from the blonde's mind so forcefully that his physical body actually was knocked over.

"Whoa, you okay?" Naruto asked, moving to the groaning Telepath's side so as to help him back to his feet.

"Yeah," moaned Jace, taking the offered hand. "I don't think I've ever had that happen to me before..."

"Do you want to try again?" Jace shook his head at Naruto's inquiry.

"Whatever that was doesn't want me seeing what you saw the other night. This wasn't a one-time fluke, I'm certain." His tone was adamant, and for a moment, Naruto worried over what, or who, could have thrown the cloaked-boy from his mind so powerfully. Unbidden, the word 'Bolas' floated to the top of his mind, but it was gone before Naruto could process what it meant, and so subtly that Jace didn't even notice it. "I have to return to Ravnica. The library there might be able to provide an answer to why and how my spell backfired. I'll return when I can, but if you need me, you at least know where to find me."

"Hey, Wait-" Naruto flinched and turned from the dust that was blown from the ground as Jace planeswalked. "I don't know how to get there..." he finished, pathetically. For someone who's power was essentially his mind, he got the impression that Jace might be a tad...absent-minded.

Crawling back up the wall and into the window, he moved silently back to his bed. And just when he was about to get back to sleep, was when she spoke.

"Naruto?" Whispered Chandra, drawing the aforementioned ninja's attention. "Is everything ok? I know mother asked earlier, but I just want to be sure..." Naruto sighed a bit.

"Just some bad dreams. Make it hard to sleep," he replied.

"It's not because of me...is it?" Naruto now raised a brow, turning to the pyromancer. She however continued to stare at the ceiling. "I mean, if it wasn't for me, we'd still be back home, in Ghirapur. We wouldn't be running and hiding all the time. I miss the sounds of the city. I miss waiting for you to get home to tell me about your day."

"I miss those things too, Chandra. I also miss the Leaf. I miss my friends. But here we are. The past is over and done with. And to be honest, I was more worried about you blaming me." Chandra looked to him now at the declaration. "I should have jumped in sooner. I was distracted, and didn't pay attention which direction you were going. I could have ended everything before it started. There's a lot on my mind, Chandra. But blaming you for anything is not one of those things."

Chandra looked relieved, like a weight had been lifted from her. And in a way, there was. She couldn't bear the thought of Naruto holding some resentment toward her, and hearing otherwise eased her mind greatly. She rolled over, turning away from him, and Naruto - thinking the conversation over - settled back into a relaxed position. "But you'd tell me if I was the problem, right?" Naruto cracked his eye open with a soft smile.

"You are a lot of things, Chandra. Not one of them is a problem. But yes, I would tell you." In the dark, Naruto couldn't see the burning blush that consumed the cheeks of the Pyromancer at his words.

"You're not a problem either," she whispered. It was meant to be under her breath, but Naruto's sharper hearing caught every word.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Captain."

Baral looked to his Lieutenant, who saluted him respectfully.

"Report?" The young woman nodded.

"The Vent packs are as ready as they will ever be, and the watch has the Nalaars and Uzumaki hiding out in the small town of Bunarat," she announced. "The troops await your order to move out, and we can be there by sunrise."

Baral stared at the flickering candle on his desk grimly, before snuffing the withering flame between his fingers.

"Take them."

 **Chapter end.**

 **Sorry if the story felt jumpy or rushed, but we are nearing the end of this glorified prologue.**

 **As I said previously, I'm using the Origins retcon of the PW backstories, and as of now, Jace has yet to join the Consortium, and thus has never met Liliana, who yes, has a tendency to slaughter Angels. In fact, her golden headdress was one she stole from an angel she killed. Also, it is implied that just being around Nicol Bolas can drive a person insane, so I figured a scale of his, saturated in magic, could produce a similar effect. As for Bolas' psychic ability, remember, Jace, who is one of the most powerful mind-mages in existence...lasted three seconds total against Nicol Bolas' mental powers, and that was considered to be a great feat.**

 **Just don't want people to think I'm making Bolas out as more powerful than I should.**

 **Peace to all my Fans**

 **Fan of Fanfics**


	6. My family is being evicted, please help!

So, we recently moved into a new apartment, as our old one was far to small to begin with. Now we have a one year old and we had to get something bigger. We found something within our price range, but they didn't inform us before-hand that they required first and last month's rent with the deposit ($900 per person). I only make roughly $1400 per month, plus all the other expenses, car payments/insurance, groceries, baby supplies, etc...and when they cashed that check, I didn't have enough and it bounced. Now they are threatening eviction, and we have nowhere to go.

I'm hoping I we can reach a goal of $2000, which will pay in full our amount, and give us some breathing room.

There is a link on my profile to the campaign. I am begging. I am desperate! Please Help!


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